lengthening a tongue

[bluecollerboater]

I have a long brand tandem roller trailer for a 20 footer. The gvw is 5080 lbs. I was wondering if I could unbolt the original tongue and replace it with one that is three feet longer. I need to trailer a 23', 2200 lb boat. The trailer is made of galvanized boxed stock about 2" by 4 ". and has 32 wobble rollers as well as 5 keel rollers. Thanks in advance.

 

[mthieme]

Re: lengthening a tongue

Yup.
I take your post doesn't have that much adjustment?

 

[bluecollerboater]

Re: lengthening a tongue

I can move the tree up about three feet but it will be at the coupler.

 

[mthieme]

Re: lengthening a tongue

Just a thought.
You don't want it all the way up.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: lengthening a tongue

if it has a bolt on tongue, no problem. i have changed many tongues, to make launching easier.

 

[Lou C]

Re: lengthening a tongue

I just did that on my old 94 Load Rite early this summer, replaced the 7 foot tounge with a 9 foot tongue, and also put on longer roller bars, so now the trailer fully fits the boat, and the longer tongue makes launching easier. An added benefit is that the longer tongue and roller bars are made out of thicker galvanized steel. Here are some pix. BTW, I got all this stuff at trailerpartsdepot.com they sell factory Load Rite parts. I added an additional cross brace at the front for the tongue, so there would not be a tendency for it to flex at that joint. These tongues are attached with one big bolt that goes through the rails and the tongue, and then braced with the cross brace. I noticed that most bigger trailers use 2 cross braces so I got a piece of 2"x2" angle galvanized, and drilled it for the U bolts. Cost a few hundred bux but worth it, now the rear rollers go all the way to the transom.

 

[HappierWet]

Re: lengthening a tongue

Isn't this going to make the tongue heavier. Balance wise I mean...now there is more Boat in front of the axles than it was set up for.

 

[Lou C]

Re: lengthening a tongue

That would depend on if you changed the position of the boat on the trailer relative to the axle. If you pulled the boat foward yes then the tongue would get heavier, but if not, it would be more likely to be somewhat lighter, which could be compensated for by moving the axle rearward or pulling the boat foward a bit. I'm actuallly suprised at how short most trailer tongues are. In a salt water area you really want the longer tongue because you don't want the rear of your truck in the water. The longer wheelbase of the trailer also tows better all other things being equal, and is easier to back up.